


Love at First Bark

by SailorChibi



Series: puppy play [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Animal Play, Collars, Conventions, Fluff, Hand Feeding, Headspace, Hugging, Leashes, Little Headspace, M/M, Master/Pet, Multi, No Sex, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Nudity, Pet Names, Pet Play, Puppy Play, Puppy!Clint, Puppy!Tony, Steve Rogers Has Issues, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, basically just fluff, but he tries, clint is a little shit no matter what, daddy!Bucky, handler!pepper, he's calling dibs on steve, just cutsy pet play, little!Natasha, natasha is an adorable little girl, non sexual age play, non-established relationship, not exactly master more like owner, owner!bucky, owner!steve, peeing, platonic sleeping together, puppy headspace, puppy!bruce, steve's a dork, they both get hugs, they hug each other, tony is an adorable puppy, tony is territorial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-21 15:10:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7392415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Officially, Steve had agreed to come to the puppy play convention out of curiosity.</p><p>Unofficially, the adorable puppy with the warm brown eyes stole his heart immediately.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love at First Bark

**Author's Note:**

> Commission for anon who wanted a puppy/kitten convention with puppy!Tony who wanders away from Pepper and finds Steve, who kinda sorta wants a puppy of his own, with puppy!clint, little!Natasha and Bucky. My first time writing puppy play.

Natasha's red hair felt like silk between Steve's fingers as he carefully separated the strands. She was being such a good girl, sitting calm and quiet on the edge of the bed while Steve knelt behind her. Not like in the bathroom, where there was an awful lot of barking going on. Steve definitely had the easier job here, and all because he used to sit by his mother's bed every morning and brush out her long, waist-length hair out before painstakingly braiding it. By contrast, Natasha's upper-arm-length hair was a heck of a lot easier to handle. 

"Just bear with me, honey," he said under his breath. Natasha hummed in response, her eyes closed. Steve successfully braided one half of her hair and tied it off with a beautiful blue bow. Then he switched to the other side. He was halfway through braiding the other side when the bathroom door finally flew open and Clint trotted out, looking all pleased with himself. Bucky followed, looking remarkably less impressed, probably because he was completely soaked.

"Daddy?" Natasha said, both of her eyebrows lifting.

"Don't ask," Bucky said, sighing loudly. "Steve, can you -"

"Sure," Steve said. By some miracle, he managed not to laugh until Bucky had gone back into the bathroom and shut the door. Only then did he and Natasha look at each other and burst into laughter. Clint just sat down in a corner of the room and rubbed at his ears, eyes sparkling with mischief. He was ready to go, reddish, floppy ears falling forward into his face and his tail thumping behind him when he wiggled his hips.

"Silly puppy," Natasha said fondly, holding her hands out. Clint scuttled over to her, woofing softly, and buried his nose in her hands. 

"I think you're both very silly," said Steve, finishing off the other braid with another blue bow. He had one more length of ribbon, and he picked it up. "Would you like Clint to match you today?"

Clint wasn't wearing his hearing aids yet, but he must've read Steve's lips because he whined and shook his head rapidly. Natasha, on the other hand, clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Yes please, Uncle Steve! I wanna match!"

What Natasha wanted, Natasha got.

Even Bucky had to grin when he came out of the bathroom ten minutes later. Clint shot him a dirty look. The big blue bow around his neck nearly eclipsed his black collar, it was so fat. Bucky just shook his head and went over to the nightstand, where he retrieved Clint's hearing aids and leash. He handed them to Clint, who slipped them into his (human) ears and carefully adjusted them. Then he sat back on his heels and woofed. Bucky shushed him, knelt down and clipped the leash to Clint's collar. Clint woofed again and gave him a big, sloppy lick right up his cheek. Bucky groaned and pushed him away.

"I know, I know, I'm holding you all up." He shook his head and stood up, turning to Natasha. "Ready, baby girl?"

"Yes Daddy." Natasha smiled and stood up. She looked adorable in a bright blue sundress patterned with yellow sunflowers. Privately, Steve thought that Clint was extremely fortunate that Natasha hadn't gone for the matching sunflower clips, or Clint would undoubtedly be wearing one of those too. 

"Make sure you hold either my hand or Uncle Steve's hand, got it?" 

"I know." Natasha reached out for Steve's hand. He took it gladly, squeezing her hand gently. Though he wasn't interested in having a little boy or girl of his own, Steve had to admit that when she was in her headspace, Natasha was a real sweetheart. 

The four of them moved into the hall and down to the elevator as a group. The whole hotel had been booked for Puppypalooza, so no one gave them a second look. It was strange for Steve to realize that he was probably the most nervous out of all of them; this was his first time attending any event like this, whereas Bucky had been coming for a few years now and had brought Natasha along for the last three. This was actually where Bucky and Clint had first met, which was one of the reasons why they came back every year. 

Steve had told himself the whole way down that he was just here for curiosity's sake, but as the elevator doors opened his pulse started to race with anticipation. He followed Bucky, Clint leading the way, down the hall into the convention center. It was enormous and packed full of people, puppies and kittens. There were tons of vendors selling different items, as well areas set up for bathing, playing, feeding, naps - even a little outdoor area where trained puppies and kittens could go to the bathroom. It was a little overwhelming.

"Why don't we just walk around?" Bucky suggested, winding Clint's leash around his arm. "I'd like to see if I can find Clint a new collar."

"Didn't you just buy him that collar?" Steve said.

"Like six months ago," Bucky said defensively, and, when Steve just looked at him, scowled. "Shut your face."

"I didn't say anything," Steve said, trying not to smirk; he knew he'd failed when Natasha giggled and Bucky huffed at the both of them.

Clint didn't seem to mind the idea of a new collar. He led them straight to a booth that was manned by a young woman who was selling just that. She came right around the table, got down on her knees and cooed over Clint, telling him what a beautiful puppy he was and gushing over his groomed fur, running her hands over his head, down his back and across his fur-covered backside. Clint preened visibly under the attention, arching his back. Bucky just stood back and rolled his eyes, though Steve could see that he was also proud.

"Come on, Uncle Steve," Natasha said, tugging at his hand. She was staring at a group of kittens that were frolicking under heat lamps. Steve walked with her, realizing that most of the kittens were looking for owners. One of them, a black kitten with beautiful brown eyes who was wearing a fur-covered bodysuit that matched her skin tone, sat up straight and winked at Natasha.

"Did you want to play with the kitties?" the attendant asked.

"Can I?" Natasha looked at Steve. He shrugged and nodded. Natasha was inside the pen like a shot. The attendant joined her. 

Steve leaned against the wall, keeping one eye on Natasha while he glanced around the room. There was a lot more people than he'd been expecting, but not everyone was matched up. Some people were walking around alone; there were also some kittens and puppies wandering around alone. All of the puppies and kittens were different from each other, depending on their personal preference and how they liked to play. 

Some, like Clint, wore coverings over their genitals. Others were completely naked, with only a tail (either a butt plug or a belt around the waist) and ears. Others, like the kittens Natasha was playing with, wore fur or latex bodysuits. Most of the kittens and puppies were crawling - nearly all of them had kneepads on, though not all of them wore protective gloves shaped like paws on their hands - though there were some that were walking on two legs.

It was fascinating to see the differences. He was following the progress of one man who had three puppies on leashes when someone crashed into him. Startled, Steve just barely managed to avoid falling onto his ass. He caught the wall and found himself staring at a puppy he'd never seen before. This one was fully naked except for knee pads, brown front paws, a fluffy brown tail and little puppy ears that stuck up from his tousled hair. There was a very simple brown collar around his neck; there was a brown leash hanging from it. Everything above the collar took Steve's breath away. This puppy was _hot_ ; warm brown eyes and a well-trimmed goatee and defined cheekbones.

He was also whimpering. Concerned, Steve crouched down. His concern grew when the puppy flinched away from him. 

"Hey. What's wrong?" Steve asked softly, holding out a hand for the puppy to sniff. "It's okay, little guy. I won't hurt you. Are you lost?"

The puppy whimpered again and sniffed at Steve's hand. Apparently he deemed Steve trustworthy, because he nuzzled against Steve's fingers. Steve hesitantly let his hand come to rest on the pup's head, not sure if he was crossing boundaries here. But the puppy seemed to like it, eyes drifting half-shut when Steve's fingertips rubbed behind his left ear.

That gave Steve the opportunity to check the puppy’s tag. Unlike Clint’s tags, which had his name on the front and then Bucky’s name and cell phone number on the back, this puppy just had a name. Tony. Steve looked at him. 

“Tony? Is that you?” he asked, laughing when the pup barked at the sound of his name. “Okay. I’m Steve. It’s nice to meet you, Tony. You’re a very handsome pup, yes you are.”

Tony preened at the attention, rubbing his head against Steve’s fingers in a bid for more affection. Steve kept stroking his hair even as he glanced around for Natasha. He wasn’t surprised to see that she’d noticed his attention was preoccupied elsewhere, and she was now making her way towards him. Tony tensed a little as she came up to them, eyes darting nervously towards Steve, but Natasha crouched down too to make herself seem less threatening.

“Puppy, Uncle Steve?” she asked.

“His name is Tony,” Steve told her, and when she started to reach out, cautioned, “Gently, honey. I think he’s a pretty young puppy.”

Very carefully, Natasha set her hand on the puppy’s shoulder and patted him a few times. “Is he lost?”

“I think so.”

Immediately, Natasha’s eyes started to fill with tears. Her voice was quivering when she said, “But if he’s lost, how will he go home?”

Apparently Tony was as affected by her tears as the rest of them, because he turned away from Steve and snuggled into Natasha. He licked her fingers just once, prompting a wet giggle. Steve smiled.

“It’s okay. You and I are going to help him find his owner.” He picked up the end of the leash and wondered if he was imagining the way that Tony seemed to relax once the leash was in Steve’s hand. He stood up, helping Natasha to stand as well. Tony had to be short; kneeling, he only came up to Natasha’s waist.

“What do we do?” Natasha asked, rubbing her eyes.

“We’ll just walk around until someone sees us, or until Tony sees something he recognizes.”

“Can’t he just smell his way back?”

Steve wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Well, puppies do have a very good sense of smell. But this is a really big place with lots of people and all kinds of new smells, and like I said Tony is probably just a couple years old. Like you.” He tickled her ribs and she giggled. “So it’s probably pretty overwhelming to him. I bet that’s why he crashed into me.”

“What if we can’t find his owner?” Natasha asked, starting to look upset again. You would never know it when she wasn't in her headspace, but she had some pretty bad memories associated with not having a home; Steve gave her a squeeze.

“We’ll find them, honey, don’t worry. Come on.”

They started to walk. Tony was well-trained, at least; he hung back by Steve’s side instead of pulling at the leash, almost curling into Steve’s side. It made it a little difficult to walk, but Steve didn’t mind too much. He was surprised to find that he liked the feel of the leash in his hand and looking down at the other end to see Tony’s shoulders and hips shifting as he crawled. The puppy tail poking out from his ass was just too cute, swaying as he moved, and Steve had to stifle a grin.

They actually hadn’t gone very far before a voice behind them shouted, “Tony!”

Steve and Natasha turned. A beautiful woman with red hair rushed over to them, looking frantic. She had another puppy with her; this puppy was similar to Tony, though he had black fur, but he was wearing a diaper. Tony barked and made a beeline for the woman, rubbing happily against her legs and licking the other puppy in welcome. 

“Oh, thank god. You almost gave me a heart attack. What were you thinking, wandering off?” scolded the woman, relief clear in her voice. She dropped to her knees and hugged Tony tightly. “Honestly, you are going to give me grey hair!”

She finally noticed that Tony’s leash was being held by someone, and looked up at them. Steve smiled at her, trying to hide his disappointment. It was a _good_ thing that Tony was back with his owner. Steve had no business being disappointed that it had happened so quickly.

“Is he yours?” Natasha asked curiously. “You should keep a better hold on your puppy.”

“Natasha!” Steve said, mortified.

The woman actually chuckled. “No, you’re right. I was preoccupied with Bruce and Tony slipped away from me. Thank you so much for finding him. Can I buy you a drink for looking after him?”

“That’s not necessary –” Steve started.

“I want cake,” Natasha said bluntly.

“Natasha!” Steve said again.

And again, the woman laughed. “Cake it is. I could probably use something sweet to settle my nerves, too. If that’s okay with your daddy?”

“He’s my uncle. My daddy’s over there.” Natasha pointed at a specific spot in the crowd. Steve looked automatically, but couldn’t see Bucky or Clint.

“Your uncle, then.” The woman was smiling.

Steve sighed. “It’s fine with me. Steve Rogers. This is Natasha.”

“Everyone calls me Pepper.” Pepper extended a hand and they shook. She had a firm handshake. “This is Bruce, and you already know Tony.”

“Yeah, we met,” Steve said, glancing down at the pups. Bruce was practically hiding behind Pepper, but Tony was content to lean against Steve’s side. And Pepper was making no move to take back Tony’s leash. He wasn’t sure whether he should try and hand it to her or not.

Natasha was staring at Bruce with outright fascination. “How come he’s wearing a diaper?”

“Because he’s a really young puppy,” Pepper replied. “He’s not fully trained yet.” She ran her hand over Bruce’s hair. “Shall we?”

There were a few food vendors set up in one corner of the room. Steve found himself sitting at a table alone with just the pups for company while Natasha led Pepper over to the counter, all offers to pay firmly refused. He looked down at Bruce and Tony. Both of them were straining at their leashes, trying to follow Pepper.

"Stop that. Sit," Steve said sternly. Tony obeyed with clear reluctance, plunking his rump down on the floor, but Bruce totally ignored Steve and kept whining and stretching in Pepper's direction. Fortunately, they returned in short order, with Pepper carrying a tray that had three drinks, two bowls, and several more pieces of cake than Steve suspected Bucky would want Natasha to have. He shot Natasha a look, but she pretended not to notice.

“You really didn’t have to do this,” Steve said as Pepper doled out the drinks. She’d bought them all lemonades, and she had water in the bowls for the pups. She set the bowls down on the ground before taking a seat and crossing her legs. Tony began to lap at the water, but Bruce disregarded his bowl entirely.

“It’s no problem. Tony can be a handful.”

“Actually, he was very pleasant.”

“Really?” Pepper looked a little surprised. Beside them, Natasha dug into a piece of cake and was promptly lost to the world.

Steve frowned to himself. If she thought Tony was so badly trained, why didn’t she take him to obedience classes? At least Tony had listened when Steve told him to sit, whereas Bruce had ignored him. Or maybe those weren’t actually a thing when it came to puppy play. He didn’t know. He said, “He was fine. But you should consider getting his tags upgraded with your phone number in case he runs off again.”

“Oh, I’m not his owner. I’m just his handler,” said Pepper. She took one look at the clueless look on Steve’s face and smiled patiently. “Bruce and Tony aren’t mine. I don’t play with them all the time – really at all, actually. Bruce has an owner, his girlfriend Betty, but she got called away to a conference this weekend. Tony doesn’t have an owner. He asked me to accompany them to make Bruce feel more comfortable. They didn’t want to miss out.” Again, she stroked Bruce’s hair. “I don’t mind a scene every once in a while, so I said yes. Besides, it’s always nice to mingle with like-minded people.”

“I came with one of my friends. He never misses it,” Steve said. It was embarrassing, but he suddenly felt a lot more friendly towards Pepper now that he knew she didn’t own Tony.

“They did pull in a good crowd this year.” Pepper looked around with an experienced eye before zeroing in on Steve. “Are you looking for a puppy of your own?”

“Ah – ” Steve, not expecting the blunt question, flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’m not in the market for a little, but I’ve seen the way that Bucky and Clint interact and it seems… peaceful. For both of them.”

“Are those your friends?” Pepper asked. When he nodded, she added, “You’re not wrong. There’s no way I could afford to take care of a pet all the time. Not with the demands of my job. I don't even have time for a boyfriend." She sighed. "But when I get the opportunity to be a handler…” Her whole face softened. “It’s like all of the stress in the world just melts away.”

It certainly _sounded_ appealing in theory. Steve just wasn’t so sure it would work in practice. He doubted he’d be lucky enough to find someone like Clint or Natasha, neither of whom minded the occasional PTSD-induced flashback or bout of nightmares. He tried to force a smile.

“That sounds great, honestly, but… my life is complicated,” he said. He tugged on the dog tags around his neck so that Pepper could see them, mostly because he was sure she’d notice them sooner or later if she hadn’t already. “Not something I can ask just anyone to jump into.”

“Thank you for your service,” Pepper said earnestly. “But you shouldn’t give up that easily. You’d be surprised what some people – or puppies – could understand.”

“Cake!”

Steve jumped as Natasha’s hand shot past him, grabbing the slice of cheesecake Pepper had set there. “Hey now, that’s mine,” he said, stilling her hand. He was grateful for the reprieve. Pepper’s eyes were unnerving. Natasha glanced up at him, a hint of knowing surfacing briefly, and he loved her dearly at that moment.

Pepper laughed. “Natasha’s right. We’re letting our food go stale.” She pulled a slice of chocolate cake closer and dug her fork into it, letting out a pleased sound. “Oh, that’s blissful.”

“Mine?” Natasha asked. Steve was ready to scold her, but Pepper grinned and obligingly scooted the plate and her chair closer to Natasha so they could share.

“Spoiled,” Steve muttered, but both of them ignored him. He tugged his cheesecake closer and put his fork into it. Instantly, something soft was touching his leg. He looked down straight into Tony’s beautiful, pleading eyes, just above the paw on his knee. It was impossible to say no. He swiped his finger in the frosting and held it out, stunned when Tony actually licked it off. His tongue was warm and wet, keeping eye contact with Steve the whole time.

“And you call Natasha spoiled,” Pepper said, watching him with a knowing look.

“He’s cute,” Steve said defensively, hurriedly bringing a forkful of cheesecake up to his mouth.

"That's the problem. He's too cute," she replied, rolling her eyes fondly and licking some frosting from her fork. Tony whined, a soft sound that wrenched at Steve's heart, but Pepper shook her head. "No, Tony. Puppies can't have chocolate. It's bad for you."

Tony whined again, and before Steve knew it he was feeding the puppy more cream cheese frosting. Tony wiggled his rump as he licked Steve's fingers, making his tail wag. It was so cute, Steve ended up sharing the rest of the cheesecake with him. He tried to give some to Bruce, but Bruce just eyed him and then curled up underneath Pepper's chair, even though it was a tight fit for him. Besides, it didn't seem like Tony wanted him to share, deliberately nudging in between Bruce and Steve and nipping at Steve's fingers.

"Hey, no biting," Steve said, giving him a gentle, reprimanding tap on the nose before he realized what he was doing. He froze. "Oh, shit, Pepper, I'm sorry. I didn't -"

"It's okay. Tony deserved it," Pepper said. She was watching Steve thoughtfully, cake long gone. Natasha was dozing on the table, one of her braids inches away from a puddle of lemonade. Steve reached out absentmindedly to push the hair away, mostly because Natasha hated having her hair washed whether she was big or little.

Steve was about to ask Pepper if she, Tony and Bruce would be around tonight, and if they would maybe want to have supper with them, when he felt something wet and hot spraying onto his socks and shoes. Baffled, he looked down and then leapt up with a muttered, shocked curse. Tony had lifted his leg and was _peeing_ on him!

"Tony!" Pepper shrieked a moment later, also jumping up. She grabbed Tony's collar and gave him a sharp slap on the rump. "Bad boy! You know better than that! What is the matter with you?"

"Pepper, it's fine," Steve said, even though it wasn't. The only decent pair of shoes he owned were soaked. He could feel pee soaking into his socks. He couldn't help making a face when he shifted his weight and his shoes audibly squished. There was a small puddle around his feet; he could see one of the food vendors talking on the phone, probably calling for a janitor. Accidents were likely something that happened frequently around here, though in this case Tony had been pretty deliberate.

"No, it's not. Steve, I am _so_ sorry. He's done this to me a couple of times, but I never thought he'd do it to anyone else." Pepper's face was almost as red as her hair. "It's a territorial thing. Maybe I should look into getting him neutered." She glowered at Tony, who shrank back and whimpered dramatically. 

"No need for that. Really. I'll just go... change my shoes." He couldn't help grimacing when he took a step aside. Yeah, that was pretty gross.

"At least let me buy you a new pair of shoes. And by me, I mean Tony," Pepper said.

Steve glanced down at Tony, then back up at Pepper. After how much this trip had cost, he wasn't sure he could afford a new pair of shoes, and he'd need them when he went back to work on Monday. "Fair enough. I have to go upstairs and take a shower. Why don't you guys meet me in the lobby at 5pm?"

"Absolutely. And again, I am so sorry." 

"Really, no big deal," Steve said again. He put a hand on Natasha's shoulder and shook her gently. She roused immediately and stood up, rubbing at her eyes sleepily. He took her by the hand and led the way towards the exit, glancing back only once to see that Bruce was still hiding under Pepper's chair, and Pepper was intently scolding Tony while a janitor approached them with a mop and bucket. It was the kind of scene where you had to laugh, even while walking away in squishy, pee-soaked shoes.

Instead of taking the shoes back upstairs, Steve dumped in the trashcan just outside the convention room and threw his socks in for good measure. Walking barefoot across the floor wasn't hygienic, but he wasn't sure what else to do. It raised more than one eyebrow in the lobby, but Steve just pretended not to notice. It wouldn't be the first time people thought he was a little weird and it wouldn't be the last.

"Can I take my shoes off too?" Natasha asked.

"No, honey. You keep your shoes on."

Natasha frowned. "But -"

"You have pretty shoes, remember?" Steve said as they walked into the elevator. He pointed to her shoes. They were yellow and very shiny. Natasha followed his finger and smiled, clicking her heels together three times. The Wizard of Oz was one of her favorite stories.

Steve sent Bucky a quick text message as they got back to the room. First things first: he did Bucky a huge favor and put Natasha down for a nap. She crashed pretty much instantly; not even the excitement of the day or the sugar she'd consumed was enough to combat two sleepless nights from sheer excitement. Then, certain she'd sleep for at least thirty minutes, Steve headed into the bathroom. He stripped down and jumped in the shower. The second the water was hot enough, he scrubbed down his feet and legs.

The rest of his shower was pretty quick - he hadn't exactly gotten filthy between showering that morning and now - and by the time he got out, Bucky had returned. Steve peeked out the door and saw that Clint had joined Natasha, curled up on the bottom of her bed in a little circle, new green collar visible even from that distance. That was about all of the look he got, because Bucky crowded into the bathroom with him and shut the door.

"What's this I hear about you adopting a puppy that peed on you?"

"That's not what happened."

"I have it on good authority it is."

"Your authority is a three-year-old who, while in her headspace, likes to exaggerate to get me in trouble," Steve said, making a face at him and exchanging his towel for boxers. Bucky ignored him and sat down on the toilet, making it clear he wasn't leaving anytime soon. Sometimes he thought he and Bucky knew each other a little too well.

"So you didn't get peed on? You're just taking a shower in the middle of the day for fun?"

Steve scowled. Bucky started to laugh.

"It wasn't like that. He was just a puppy."

"Right. I'm sure it was an accident," Bucky said, still laughing. "Not at all because you're over six foot, you're hot _and_ a you're total softie and that pup wanted to call dibs."

Steve, remember Pepper's comment, flushed.

Bucky laughed louder. "Oh, that's priceless. Out of all the ways I thought you'd meet a puppy... jesus, Steve, you sure can pick 'em."

"It wasn't like that," Steve repeated, but with less conviction. He had to admit that Tony was a real sweetheart, peeing aside. He might be a little shit, but he also had this way of looking up at Steve that made Steve melt. He was also incredibly attractive. He found himself wondering what Tony was like as a person when he was out of his puppy headspace, and wished he'd gotten the opportunity to find out. 

Unfortunately, that's not what these weekends were for. People came here from all over the US to slip into their puppy and kitten headspace in a safe place where they could escape the real world, not to go out on dates. And Steve wasn't interested in some quick sex; he wanted more than that. But he was pretty sure it would be creepy to ask Pepper for Tony's contact information when she was just Tony's friend. It didn't seem right, somehow. He picked up a comb. Tomorrow, the convention would end and he would never see Tony or Pepper again. It would be back to his boring, too quiet normal life. 

"Geez, you go maudlin fast," Bucky muttered. "Look, if you liked this pup what's-his-name, then what's the harm? Why not spend some time with him tomorrow?"

"Because I don't just want a puppy, I want what you have with Clint and Natasha," Steve said, making sure to keep his voice down just in any case there were any eavesdroppers still awake in the other room. "That means I don't want a puppy for like two days that I never see again."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe that's how it starts?" Bucky said.

Steve frowned at him in the mirror. Bucky glared back. The staring contest continued until, from out in the bedroom, Clint started to yap.

Bucky sighed and stood up. "Look, Stevie. What you want doesn't just happen overnight. You have to take it one step at a time like the rest of us. If you're not interested in this what's-his-name, go downstairs tomorrow. Spend a little time with the puppies and kittens wanting an owner. If you get along well with one of them and they want to know you after this weekend, great. If not, at least you'll come away knowing you tried." He stepped over to the door and slipped out. Moments later, Clint's frantic yapping calmed.

"That's easy for you to say," Steve muttered at the door, not wanting to admit that Bucky was right. He finished getting ready and shut the light off before he opened the door. As expected, Natasha and Clint had pulled Bucky down onto the bed with them and were now so wrapped around him it was hard to tell who owned what limb. Steve shook his head, dressed quietly and snatched a pair of Bucky's shoes on his way past.

He made it back downstairs just after 5pm, but he didn't see Pepper's tell-tale red hair anywhere in the lobby. He took a seat on the benches near the exit and wondered if maybe she'd changed her mind about paying for his shoes; he could wear Bucky's if he had to, but Bucky wore a half-size smaller so his shoes had the tendency to pinch Steve's toes. And forget Clint's shoes; the guy wore a size smaller than Natasha. It would be like Cinderella all over again, with Steve as the ugly stepsister with humongous feet.

"Steve?"

That wasn't Pepper's voice, hesitant though it was. Steve turned quickly. He was shocked to see Tony standing behind him, upright on two feet, fully clothed in jeans and a t-shirt, with no sign of the collar, leash, paws, ears, or tail. Tony had his hands shoved in his pockets and was watching Steve warily, seemingly ready to take off running at the slightest hint of provocation. Fortunately, he didn't seem inclined to take Steve staring like an idiot as such.

"Tony?" Steve said finally, the word coming out much too high. He cleared his throat and tried again. "What are you... I was expecting Pepper."

"I can go get her for you, if you want."

"No!" It was possible, from Tony's raised eyebrows, that Steve might've said that too fast. "I mean... I thought you'd be playing with Bruce. Sleeping. Doing the whole... puppy thing."

"Puppy thing?" Tony repeated, finally cracking a smile. He was taller than Steve had guessed, maybe a head shorter than Steve. "You should be careful about how you say that. Someone might think you weren't okay with it."

"I - no. That's not -"

Tony chuckled and sat down next to him on the bench, slumping back against the wall. "I'm just teasing. Sorry about the whole peeing on you thing. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but Pepper says I have self control issues that get about a thousand times worse when I'm in my headspace."

"It was gross," Steve admitted. "But it's fine."

"That's kind of you to say, but still. I'm told I owe you some new shoes?"

Steve winced, reminded of his pinched toes. "You don't have to."

"Believe me, I can afford it," Tony said. "And then... maybe after, I could buy you dinner?"

Genuinely surprised, Steve stared at him again. Tony's smile grew less confident by the second, settling into something uncertain. 

"I mean... if it's too weird, that's fine."

"No," Steve said, aggravated at himself. He was screwing this up royally. "Sorry. I'm not very good at this. Like, at all. My best friend would tell you that I have no game whatsoever."

Very slowly, Tony smiled again. "I dunno about that. I'm here and willing to buy you dinner, so you must be doing something right."

Steve had to smile back at him. "Then I accept."

He discovered, during that dinner, that Tony lived in New York. Though not in the same area. Because it also turned out that Tony was _Tony Stark_. Steve felt like the world's biggest idiot for not putting two and two together immediately, but truthfully he had the bad habit of paying very little attention to the media at large - something Natasha mocked him for at length now that it had come back to bite him in the ass. It was kind of daunting to know that he'd let a billionaire lick frosting off of his fingers.

It was a nice dinner. Steve had a lot of fun, even if Tony did mock him endlessly for his choice in shoes, but he wasn't expecting this to actually go anywhere. Walking into the convention center the next morning and having Tony practically tear Pepper's arm off in his haste to get over to Steve was, well. It definitely gave Steve's ego a little boost. He spent the whole day following Tony around the room and protecting him when a lone kitten decided she didn't like the look of a puppy.

(Later, Tony, smirking, would say that was the moment he fell in love, because who could resist such a dashing knight? Steve, red-faced, would wrestle him down on their bed and kiss him quiet).

Somehow, in the midst of picking Tony up and physically carrying him away from the kitten, Steve ended up with Tony's phone number in his phone. So it only seemed right to call him when he was back in New York. The first time he showed up at the door of Tony's mansion in New York, holding a bouquet of flowers and wondering if this was a massively bad idea, Tony bought half a dozen pizzas and they spent the night watching and mocking terrible movies. It was, by far, the best second date Steve had ever had.

He was just a sweet, silly puppy. He was an equally sweet, generous man who took Steve's issues in stride. The first time Steve woke up screaming, his puppy was right there beside him, warm tongue lapping at Steve's fingers as a grounding reminder until Steve felt well enough to roll over and wrap his arms around his pup, cuddling him close. 

The next time they attended Puppypalooza, Steve had a pup all his own. Tony led the way into the convention center, back arched to show off the red collar around his neck and matching red leash in Steve's hand, the gold tag which bore his name and Steve's name and number shining.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


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